Economics

Discovery Institute Research Fellow Chris Rufo appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program last week to discuss a new problem emerging from the homelessness crisis in several of America’s biggest cities, including Seattle. “Survival Crime” theory posits that certain vulnerable groups of people, such as the homeless, should be exempt from laws against public camping, drug consumption, and even theft Read More ›

Microsoft recently announced an unprecedented three-year, $500 million investment to spur housing development across the Puget Sound region. Since 2011, strong economic growth in the Seattle metro area has boosted overall jobs by 21 percent, but the housing stock has expanded only 13 percent, leading to a massive increase in rental and home prices. It’s a problem reaching crisis levels in all West Coast tech cities. Read More ›

Ronald Reagan was a winner who believed in the boundless potential of America. Sound familiar? It’s one of the reasons Donald Trump is succeeding despite the relentless criticism. He “has a finger on the pulse of millions and millions and millions of Americans.” He beat 17 other candidates to get elected and then outsmarted Congress and his own advisers to Read More ›

President Trump may have mastered the “Art of the Deal” in real estate negotiations, but his controversial trade policy with China is stalled over lack of progress in the reduction of tariff trade barriers. The good news unbeknownst to many, is that U.S. businesses can now obtain fair treatment and avoid theft of intellectual property (IP) in China. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer Read More ›

I believe that growth can benefit all Americans, yet while our GDP has tripled in size from 1975 to 2015, average wages have barely risen. The response from both political parties has been to double down on policies that have failed to address this reality Maybe they’re missing something crucial in their economic calculations. A focus on work. Author and Read More ›

Lower taxes and less regulation are great for business, but some are thriving in high-tax states like New York and California. On my new podcast, Ralph Benko explains the “Tamny Axiom”. Hint: there’s something more valuable in those states than low taxes. Read More ›

People look to the government to prevent future financial crises and too many trust that politicians and economic experts can create policies to protect us and our 401(k) plans. We shouldn’t rely on them. These experts are smart, mostly well-intentioned people but they can’t prevent the next crisis. No one can. Why is that? And why is a future crisis Read More ›

Abstract: The City of Seattle has failed to address its current homelessness crisis. In fact, because of ideological capture and poor public policy, the city has created a system of perverse incentives that has only made the problem worse. In order to truly confront the problem of homelessness, the city’s leadership must embrace a policy of realism: dismantle the system of perverse incentives, quickly build emergency shelter, and enforce the law against public camping and drug use. Ultimately, the city currently has enough resources to solve the crisis—it needs to summon the political courage to make the right choices. Read More ›

Life After Google author George Gilder explains the role of creativity in capitalism as he shares economic insight on Life, Liberty & Levin. Learning, he says, is the heart of capitalism. Whereas capitalism is about creativity, socialism is about planning and rests on the assumption that we already know everything we need to know in order to plan our future.

People in Seattle are well aware of the magnitude of the homeless problem. City leaders insist that more funding is needed to tackle this issue, but is money really the barrier to progress? Documentary filmmaker Christopher Rufo has conducted extensive research on the issues of poverty and homelessness in Seattle and around the country. Rather than just throwing money at Read More ›